Scottish League Division 3
	Queen's Park	1
	Weatherston
	East Stirling	3
	Stewart(pen) Boyle, Ure
Saturday, December 16, 2006

WE'VE just had the boss named Division 3 Manager of the Month; David Weatherston named as the Scottish Football League's Young Player of the Month ... and we're playing East Stirling. That sounds like a recipe for disaster to Old Homer, who knows a banana skin when he sees one.

Those not wise in the ways of this old club might consider today's opposition as an easy touch for three points. Those who have been about a bit longer know that this is as tough a test as we could face.

If we could collect the three points today it would set us up nicely for the tough fixtures to come over the Festive period. And it might even make the prospect of the last-minute ordeal that is trying to buy a Christmas present for the wife just a little more bearable.

You'll have to excuse Homer if the keyboard fingers don't always find their intended target today. It was the annual sports desk jolly last night at that other fine organ, the Evening Times, and one had to attend - just to be sociable, you understand, and keep the young whipper-snappers in check.

We ended up at some place called One-Up; here's hoping it's not too long today before we're saying that about the Spiders. (All right, so it's a really corny link, but it's as good as you are going to get today).

The boss made a couple of changes to freshen things up after two defeats on the bounce, bringing back Mick Dunlop after his suspension and handing a starting role to Robert Dunn. Steve Canning and Paul Ronald were the men to drop to the bench.

Queen's lined up in a conventional 4-4-2 and, surprise, surprise, the sun was shining and the rain had stopped. What a remarkable little country; headlights on and windscreen wipers overpowered at 2pm, dry as a temperance throat and sunglasses on at 2.01pm. The pitch looked in remarkably good condition considering the watering it has had recently, so no excuses there.

Shire were in their orange kit with the black shorts, and it's fair to say the little action there was in the first 10 minutes was shared. Early sparring, with neither penalty box under threat until the colourfully-named
Tiropolous flapped at a Paton corner and Shire struggled to clear.
The loose ball fell to Reilly at the edge of the box, and his chip just cleared the bar.
Shire had a nice burst of pressure around the 12 minute mark, and it took a good tackle by Ferry in the box to deny Boyle in what was a dangerous position.
There was little to report until 20 minutes, when again Queen's showed good defending. Paton's dummy down the left was read by Learnmouth and his whipped cross was taken off the toes of Molloy by Dunlop's timely tackle.
But the defending was less than good in 23 minutes as Queen's gifted Shire the lead with their first penalty of the season.
It was a nightmare for Reilly. Under no pressure, he played a poor pass out of defence which split Sinclair and Paton, and both of them reacted in time honoured fashion: After you, Claude.
Dymock was gifted possession , and when he burst into the box Reilly had a tug at his jersey and referee Nicholls immediately pointed to the spot.
Reilly was booked for chirping, Stewart sent Cairns the wrong way from the spot, and Shire had the lead. Well, Homer did warn you.
And it got worse for Queen's two minutes later, when Paton was shown a straight red card for what is becoming a trademark lunging tackle, this time on Molloy.
So 1-0 down and a man down; a good game to win, Queen's.
To do that, Queens would have to raise their game by several notches. Good interplay between Dunlop and Weatherston down the left won a corner. With Paton off, Trouten took it, but it was cleared and Shire broke. Reilly trapped a through ball and lost control, and Dymock was onto it and raced into the box on the left before unleashing a shot which beat Cairns and inched beyond the keeper's far post.
It had to be said, Shire were worth their lead. Queen's were sloppy in possession and had shown no threat up front, and they were distinctly edgy at the back.
Learnmonth was booked for a foul on Dunn in 38 minutes, and it was Shire who continued to create the chances. Stewart edged down the left and Ure was completely unmarked as he took his pass just inside the box and fired narrowly wide. Queen's were all over the place, and one had to assume the loss of Paton had disrupted the plans. Trouten was now at right back, so his industry was diluted, and coach Billy Stark certainly had plenty of talking to do in the dressing room.
Half-time: Queen's 0, Shire 1
Ronald replaced Quinn at half-time for Queen's and Shire sent on McBride for Molloy. The consensus at half time had largely been dominated by the word dreadful, so Queen's had plenty of room for improvement.
Queen's produced a cohesive bit of play at last in 52 minutes, a good move through the middle which ended with Ferry having to take a touch to go wide of the keeper and his cross being cleared..
Thywissen was booked for a foul on Weatherston in 53 minutes and there were subdued claims for a penalty a m inute later when Wild bundled the Queen's striker off the ball in the box.
Another mistake by Reilly gave Shire a corner that came to nothing, and then Weatherston's first real driving run won a corner on the left that Shire bundled clear.
But Queen's earned themselves a lifeline on the hour with an equaliser - and, not surprisingly, it came from, top scorer Weatherston.
He won a free kick 20 yards out and Dunn blasted in a fine shot which Tiropoulous could only parry. Ronald chased the ball to the byeline and sent over a high, hanging cross, and it was Weatherston who rose highest almost on the goal-line to head the ball in to the net.
So 10-man Queen's were back in it - until they again shot themselves in the foot.
The passing, particularly out of defence, had been abysmal, and it was to cost Queen's dear.
In 62 minutes, Sinclair gifted Shire possession and it took a magnificent diving block by Dunlop to stop Ure scoring.
Two minutes later we had a diabolical decision from referee Nicholls. Weatherston was going full pelt for a through ball with the keeper, they collided, and the striker went down. It wasn't a penalty, but Weatherston was booked for diving.
In 67 minutes Queen's committed suicide when they were reduced to 9 men. Trouten passed out of defence straight to Ure, who was clear on the edge of the box when Sinclair tripped him from behind to incur a straight red card.
To rub in the salt, Boyle curved in a lovely shot from the free kick wide of Cairns to restore the Shire lead.
Trouten had a shot blocked by the keeper as Queen's tried to respond, but it was all over when Shire scored a third in 77 minutes.
It was another shocker for the home defence. Shire must have had four shots blocked on the line in an amazing scramble as Queen's failed to get the ball clear, and there was a touch of inevitability about the Ure shot which finally found its way past Cairns and into the net. Did I say dreadful?
Ferry was booked in 80 minutes on the advice of a linesman for a spot of shoving, but the agony was not over for Queen's.
Astonishingly, they were reduced to EIGHT men before the end. You could argue about intent when Trouten swung his elbow as he was pulled back, but it did connect with a Shire player and he got a red card, too.
And so it ended, an ignominiuous end to an ignominious performance. And Homer has to say, in the face of the barragae of abuse aimed at referee Nicholls at full time, I had told my sidekick Gulliver, immediately that Sinclair and Trouten had made contact, that both were off. So no surprise here.
The problem for Queen's now, after a third defeat on the trot, is that they have slipped down the table and now face promotion rivals Dumbarton and Arbroath minus Sincalir, Trouten and Paton.
Did Homer say dreadful?

Pictures of the game can be found on snapper Alan Rhodes' website. Click here: